Sometimes we look around at our life situations and think that there is not enough to be thankful for. Sometimes we survey our relationships or health challenges and think that giving thanks borders on the absurd. Yet, if we look around us, we can see that we are not alone in our trials, that many others are having to face similar problems. A friend said to me the other day “It seems like I can never get away from stuff. It’s always one thing and then another and then another.” My response, “It’s always going to be there. It’s what makes you better and what makes you stronger.”

“Whatever we are waiting for – peace of mind, contentment, grace, the inner awareness of simple abundance – it will surely come to us, but only when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart.” ~Sarah Ban Breathnach

“The trick is to be grateful when your mood is high and graceful when it is low.” ~Richard Carlson

“The more grateful we feel, the more things we receive to feel grateful for. The more loved we feel, the more love we receive. The more beautiful we feel, the more attractive we become.” ~Feel It Real! by Denise Coates

“I am very grateful to make my living doing what I would do for free.” ~Judd Nelson

“That which you have received, you should be grateful for it. And the most beautiful phenomenon is that when you are grateful, existence starts pouring more and more over you. It becomes a circle: the more you get, the more you become grateful; the more you become grateful, the more you get… And there is no end to it, it is an infinite process.” ~The Magic of Self-Respect: Awakening to your Own Awareness (Authentic Living) by Osho

“Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.” ~Native American Prayer

“To become grateful, I must learn that I can handle disappointment and delayed gratification with grace and perseverance.This is why practices such as fasting and simplicity are such powerful tools for transformation. The experience of frustration and disappointment is irreplaceable in the development of a grateful heart.” ~Love Beyond Reason by John Ortberg

“Be grateful for the home you have, knowing that at this moment, all you have is all you need.” ~Sarah Ban Breathnach

“As each day comes to us refreshed and anew, so does my gratitude renew itself daily. The breaking of the sun over the horizon is my grateful heart dawning upon a blessed world.” ~Terri Guillemets

“Yes, there is a “secret to happiness”—and it is gratitude. All happy people are grateful, and ungrateful people cannot be happy. We tend to think that it is being unhappy that leads people to complain, but it is truer to say that it is complaining that leads to people becoming unhappy. Become grateful and you will become a much happier person.” ~Happiness Is a Serious Problem by Dennis Prager

“Gratitude for the present moment and the fullness of life now is the true prosperity.” ~Eckhart Tolle

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” ~Meister Eckhart